


A Friend's Heartbeat

by ephona



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: AU Fic, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 14:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6662935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephona/pseuds/ephona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamamoto watches Kaoru pitch after the events of the Shimon arc, proud of how far he's come.  But Kaoru still feels very guilty about what he's done</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Friend's Heartbeat

_Bong!_

The sound of the metal ringing as it hit the ball resounded through the stadium.  Hundreds of eyes tried to follow the soaring piece of leather and string through the air while others watched the scramble out on the diamond.  People were running left and right trying to catch the ball and getting into position to get the runners on the bases out.  The ball began to go towards the ground and landed right in the leather mitt of a player.  One out. 

“Yeah! Seiichi! Way to catch!”

The player then threw it to the pitcher’s mound where their new star pitcher stood ready to throw it to third.  Two outs. 

“Aw dang, Kaoru! Yeah, man! Show them how it’s done!”

Then, finally, a quick throw to second.  Three outs.  The crowd roared with excitement.  From the team bleachers, Yamamoto waved his hands around cheering just as loudly.

“Woohoo! There you go! Yeah that’s how it’s done!” He laughed a bit as the catcher turned back to smile at him.  “You go guys!  Na-mi-mooor-iii!”

At the end of the fifth inning, the opposing team still hadn’t scored a run.  The baseball team of Namimori Junior High was leading five to zero.  Both teams scurried off the field towards their respective bleachers.  It was time for a good rest before resuming the rest of the game.  Yamamoto held out his hand, giving each player that passed him a high five.  There were laughs, smiles and even a few handshakes given to the boy.  All of them received his invitation with an open heart.  Except for one.  He didn’t even lift his head to look at him.  There was a stony silence between the two.  As he walked past him, Yamamoto reached out and tapped his shoulder.

“Hey wait! Kaoru!” 

Mizuno Kaoru froze in his tracks.  His neck craned back around.  Like normal, the strong yet shy student didn’t say a word.  It was rare to hear an utterance from him.  Most people had only heard his voice once.  When he spoke, he seemed to always be talking to his friend and fellow teammate; Yamamoto Takeshi.  But he still hadn’t spoken a word that day.

“Hey Kaoru! You did a fabulous job out there!” Yamamoto offered him out his hand to shake.  “Man, I bet the entire team is ecstatic to have such a great pitcher like you!  You’re the reason we’re giving them a shut-out right now!”

His burly hand swatted Yamamoto’s away from him.  His eyes fixed right onto Yamamoto as he spoke.  “Don’t pity me.”

A bit taken back, Yamamoto watched as he walked away from him.  What had gotten into him?  He began to follow him, still smiling. 

“Hey, c’mon Kaoru … I’m sorry if I said something out of line.  I’m just trying to make you feel better!  I know you’re really shy and all that and I bet that crowd out there kinda makes you nervous.  When I’m down, a pep talk always gets me riled up and ready!  I’m not pitying you at all.  In fact, I’m sitting here in awe watching you pitch!  It’s, like, you’re a miracle worker!”

“Stop following me, Takeshi.” His ungloved hand balled up into a tight fist.  “Don’t pity me.  I’m horrible.”

“What? C’mon no you’re not! You’re—“

“I’m horrible!” His yell resounded right through Yamamoto’s skull.  “Stop acting like you still care for me.”

Confused, Yamamoto spoke, “But I do care for you.”

“After what I did?” Almost like a beast who had just learned of his own power, Kaoru stared down at his bare hand, fingers trembling and tensing with his heartbeat.  “No. You can’t.  Stop acting.”

“ … so that’s what this is about?” He moved closer to his friend.  “Hey, come on, that was months ago!  We’re friends now. It’s all over with!”

“But … I almost killed you.  I-I was going to kill you.”  He hid his gaze again.  “Aren’t you mad at me? You have so many reasons to live … and I almost took away all of that from you. ”

“But I’m still alive! That’s all that matters now!”

“I took baseball away from you!”

The words sunk right into his heart.  He saw the tears beginning to gather on the sides of Kaoru’s anger-ridden eyelids as he lowered his head. 

“ … Don’t put on a face.”

“Hey, Kaoru, have I ever told you about the one time I broke my arm?”

He shook his head, his short blond pompadour moving with the rhythm of his head.

“Well, about a year ago.  Back then, I was wondering if I’d amount to anything in life.  Before that time, I thought all I was good at was baseball so, seeing my skills deteriorate, made me worry.  So I asked someone for advice of how to become better.” He giggled a bit.  “I kind of ended up breaking my arm.  And, to tell you the truth, I was devastated.” His countenance darkened.  “I had everything planned out after that.   I wrote my dad a letter, stuck it in my sling and went to the roof of Namimori where I planned to jump and kill myself.   I really thought that, other than baseball, I had nothing to live for.”  The atmosphere around them turned sad and uncomfortable.  “Then … someone came and changed my mind.  Tsuna did.  He convinced me that I was worth more than my skills at baseball and that I could always find something else that I was good at.  And, well, he was right!  Now I got a lot of things to live for!  I got more than just baseball.”

“… but baseball is important to you.”

“Yeah, it is.” His next laughed seemed a bit forced like he was trying to soften his words.  “But it’s not like I’m going to give up!  I bet I can retrain easily and maybe find a way for me to do baseball!  I just won’t be able to do it normally.  Same with Shigure Kintoki.  I’ll find a way to do what I love!  Besides,” He placed a warm, loving hand on Kaoru’s shoulder.  “My friends are who I really live for.  As long as I have good friends, I don’t have anything to lose!”

The few minutes of silence that followed seemed like an eternity.  Yamamoto bit the edge of his lip.  Had he said the right thing?  Or did he say the wrong thing?  He didn’t want Kaoru to hate him.  Not after he’d gotten to know him so much.  Kaoru only had so many friends.  If he truly thought he hated him …

“T-T-Takeshi … “ There was a low sob.  “Y… you really forgive me?”

“Of course I do!  I forgave you a while ago!” He gave him a friendly pat on the back.  “I forgive you and your family.  Everything’s cool now!”

“You weren’t … pittying me.”

“I would never do that to a friend.”

Kaoru’s burly arms reached out the boy in an embrace.  One filled with tears of relief and tears of joy.  Yamamoto listened to Kaoru’s heart beat next to his ears.  Such a nice sound of life; the heartbeat.   Everyone had one.  Even someone as inwardly frail as his newest friend.

“Thank you.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it!”

Kaoru glanced out onto the field, his tears dried up and his red eyes full of life.  “Break’s over.  Here, I’ll wheel you over to the bench.”

“Aw come on you don’t have to.”

“I want to.  As a friend.”

Yamamoto reached out his hand again.  Their hands connected in a firm handshake.  Kaoru then walked around, grabbing the handles of Yamamoto’s wheelchair and steering him back to the baseball diamond.

“I bet you’re gonna help us get a shut-out! First game in the season!  Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“I’ll try to do that.”

“Yeah! Be the demon you are, Kaoru! Don’t let them score a single run!”

“Yeah …”

“Maybe coach will let me bat this round!”

“I doubt it.”

“Someday.  Someday I’m gonna bat and I’m gonna score a home run!  That way, I can help the team without having to use my legs!”

**Author's Note:**

> I had this question of how things would go if Byakuran didn't heal Yamamoto enough and this drabble happened. Hope you guys liked it!


End file.
